Hungary Ramps Up Assault on LGBTQ+ Community, Bans Rights

The Hungarian parliament just passed legislation and amended their country's constitution to effectively prevent LGBTQ+ people from adopting children. Under Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling right wing Fidesz party, the measures passed Monday by a vote of 134 to 45 with 5 abstentions. The new measures codify a binary redefinition of a family, restrict adoptions only to married couples consisting of a biological man and woman, and require single people to obtain a special exemption from the government before adoption.

"This is a dark day for Hungary's LGBTQ community and a dark day for human rights," David Vig, director of Amnesty Hungary, said in a statement. "These discriminatory, homophobic and transphobic new laws - rushed through under the cover of the coronavirus pandemic - are just the latest attack on LGBTQ people by Hungarian authorities."

Right wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban has demonized the LGBTQ+ community as a means of solidifying his base of supporters. Earlier this year, the government adopted legislation that based a person's gender on their "sex assigned at birth." The new measures passed yesterday redefined marriage as existing between a biological male and female. Only married couples meeting this new definition can adopt children now. Individuals must receive a special exemption from the family affairs minister before being considered for adoption. Civil unions are not recognized in Hungary, so same-sex couples in the past attempted to adopt by having one parent apply. The new rules effectively ban LGBTQ+ couples and singles from adopting.

Orban and his Fidesz party suffered a major embarrassment recently when fellow right wing politician and party co-founder Jozsef Szajer was detained briefly in Belgium. The hardline Szajer was caught trying to shimmy down a drain pipe after police broke up a drug-fueled gay orgy. The drug ecstasy was found in his possession, but he denied it was his. He later announced his resignation as a Member of the European Parliament at the end of the year as a result. Police made 20 arrests at the orgy where most guests disrobed upon arrival. But apparently, some of the partygoers thought the geared-up cops were part of the entertainment and tried to unzip the unsuspecting officers' pants.

Szajer notably wrote Hungary's new constitution in 2011 which restricted marriage between a man and a woman and that many beleive gave way for this increasing government-mandated homophobia.

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